‘Human nor financial losses have diminished Pakistan’s resolve to fight terrorism’

Foreign Secretary Janjua reiterates Islamabad’s aim to working with regional countries to eliminate terrorism

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua on Wednesday reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment in the fight against terrorism.

Addressing the first Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting being hosted by Pakistan, the foreign secretary stated that terrorism should not be identified by any religion or nationalities.

She said that Pakistan was cognizant of the threats posed by terrorism, separatism and extremism to the region and beyond.



Janujua reiterated that having fought terrorism and losing of its citizens and law enforcement personnel, Pakistan has also suffered economic losses of over $120 billion.

“But neither the human nor the financial losses have diminished my country’s resolve to fight this menace. Through our comprehensive efforts, over the past several years, supported by a firm domestic political consensus, we have been able to turn the tide,” she maintained.

She further said that Pakistan now looks forward to working with regional countries under the umbrella of SCO to effectively eliminate this menace from our region.

“Pakistan fully supports and welcomes the efforts of SCO-RATS in the fight against three evils of terrorism, extremism and separatism.

“As a new member, Pakistan would continue to complement these efforts. We support SCO consensus that as we engage in the fight against terrorism, we must respect the norms and principles of international law, UN Charter and shun double standards,” she added.

Pakistan is hosting its first SCO meeting since the country became a member of the organisation in June 2017.

India is also attending the regional conference despite recent tensions that have persisted between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.



"The Government of Pakistan is pleased to welcome delegations from SCO member states to Islamabad," said the FO on Tuesday.

Legal experts from the eight member states, namely China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan, as well as representatives of the SCO-RATS Executive Committee will participate in the meeting.

The legal experts will discuss terrorist threats faced by the region and come up with ways and means to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation between SCO member-states.